Fort Lauderdale, FL — FC Dallas got their first away victory this season against Inter Miami, this Saturday at DRV PNK Stadium. Nico Estevez’s squad formed with a 4-2-3-1 with Pomykal and Quignon as defensive midfielders changing the most common 4-3-3, the Spaniard has used throughout the season. It was the first game that Jesus Jimenez started a game for Dallas after a couple of games where he came out as a substitution and showed good association with his teammates.
The first minutes Inter Miami had the majority of the possession, but FC Dallas would get their first scoring chance just before the 9th minute with a left footed shot by Jesus Ferreira, after a great pass by Jimenez, but the shot went just wide to the left side. Los toros would not stop looking for the first goal and just before the 15th minute of the first half, Callender made a terrific save after Jesus Jimenez shot inside the box.
The chances continued and it seemed it was just a question of time to watch FC Dallas score, at the 21st minute Geovane Jesus made a great pass to Ferreira who made a great run, and after a successful dribbling inside the box smashed the ball to the right post and the ball went outside of the goal. The chances were appearing, and FC Dallas finally scored. An awesome build up play that started with Paes and finished with a great combination between, Geovane Jesus, Jesus Jimenez and Jesus Ferreira to score the holiest goal opened the scoreboard at the 27th minute. The Miami response came a few minutes after the goal, Stefanelli tried from outside of the box but Paes, who has made important saves so far in the season, appeared once again to maintain the lead.
The second half started with FC Dallas pushing to get their second goal, having Jesus Jimenez allowed Ferreira to move freely on the pitch. He was constantly making movements and most of the chances were created on the right wing. At the 52nd minute, Arriola let Ferreira alone with a great pass to the back of the left defender, but Jesus’s shot was stopped by Callender. The goalkeeper would stop Arriola from getting his first goal of the season with an astonishing save after again, from the right side, the captain would find a chance to shoot, but the goalkeeper sent it to the side.
Inter Miami’s goalkeeper would not stop there, at the 90th minute he would take away another scoring opportunity saving Alan Velasco’s shot inside the box and keeping alive the hope for David Beckham’s team. The last minutes would be different, Inter Miami completely offensive, looking for the tie and FC Dallas defending their advantage, but often in these situations the chances to score appear. Pizarro would cross the ball finding Corentin Jean, who deflected the pass to the goal, but Maarten Paes showed his reflexes and kept the clean sheet.
The drama was not over at all, after a cross deflection by Paes and some rebounds in the area a penalty was given to Miami after what seemed like a foul to Jean Mota, but VAR intervened, and the referee changed his decision. The points and the penalty were taken from Miami, that continued looking for the goal until the referee finished the game at the 102nd minute. FC Dallas got their first shutout win away, and Inter Miami lost their fifth consecutive game. FC Dallas will host Real Salt Lake on Saturday, April 15 at Toyota Stadium.
